Auston Matthews has added yet another layer to his already complete game and now he's even more of a threat
Auston Matthews is what many would consider to be a complete hockey player. He plays a 200-foot game, takes key draws, doesn't take a lot of penalties, is a monster on the cycle and in case you haven't noticed, he scores a LOT of goals. He's won 2 straight Rocket Richard Trophies and is the reigning Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award winner. Long story short, Auston Matthews is good at hockey. Shocker, I know.
Now, at 6'3, 220lbs, Matthews is a big dude. If there's one more thing fans would love to see from him, it's using that big frame of his to do some damage. This season, it seems like we're getting just that. Through 3 games, Matthews has thrown 14 hits, including this beauty on Martin Fehervary on Thursday.
Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe spent a lot of time last year leading up to the playoffs to preach increased intensity and physical play. This year, during training camp, Keefe preached more of the same. The arrival of Zach Aston-Reese and Nicolas Aube-Kubel (two absolute hit machines) may have helped add to that culture of relentless pressure and physical play. If Matthews is also picking up that style of play, he'll become more dangerous than we've ever thought possible.
Matthews is already a nightmare to play against; hard to cover, hard to move, and frustratingly good defensively. If he continues throwing the body like this all season, it's going to be a very long year for the opposition.
| POLL | ||
16 OCTOBRE | 588 ANSWERS Auston Matthews has added yet another layer to his already complete game and now he's even more of a threat What do you think of Matthews' new-found grit? | ||
| LOVE IT! | 358 | 60.9 % |
| We don't need him getting injured.. | 58 | 9.9 % |
| He just has to find a good balance | 172 | 29.3 % |
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